Blueberry Balsamic Barbeque Sauce

This is my entry for the What's Cooking? Ingredient Challenge! Blueberries are not my favorite fruit, in fact, I'm not really a fruit person at all, so I was a little nervous about having blueberries as an ingredient challenge. I thought about going the simple, tried and true route with blueberry muffins or pancakes or coffee cake and figured Zach would get to reap all the benefits. So, I started searching through my (many) cookbooks. In my Best of Cooking Light I found a pleasant surprise -- this recipe for Blueberry Blasamic Barbeque Sauce. Zach loves balsamic vinegar, so I figured it was worth a try.

I made the sauce and we had it on some pork spare ribs -- yum! It was tart and sweet and a nice spin on traditional barbeque sauce. It did stain the meat a purple color, as would be expected, but still looks rather odd. If I make it again I would probably add some diced onion and garlic in with, I think it would benefit from some fresh flavors instead of the dried garlic powder. I also added in a few grinds of black pepper and one shake of cayenne pepper. I might also up the balsamic to 1/3 or 1/2 cup, as it is a flavor Zach and I love.

It makes quite a bit, so we have plans to use some next week on chicken breasts. Mmmm, purple chicken breasts - haha!

Blueberry Balsamic Barbeque Sauce

The Best of Cooking Light

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1/4 cup)

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh blueberries

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons ketchup

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat; cool. Place blueberry mixture in a blender; process until smooth.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 67

Fat: 0.2g

Protein: 0.5g

Carbohydrate: 16.9g

Fiber: 1.4g